Squint just right and you can just about tell that this isn’t actually a photo of a 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Brembo Monobloc brake calipers and single exhaust canister instead indicate that that this is the slightly-revised 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000. What you can’t see is a wet weight reduced by 2kg (likely thanks to ditching that second exhaust can), a claimed boost in mid-range power and an unspecified reduction in unsprung weight thanks to thinner brake discs. What you really can’t see, because it’s not there, is traction control, ride-by-wire or any other of the electronic performance aids that are coming to define the liter bike class. Still, you can’t argue with 191bhp and 203kg (wet), plus decent suspension in the form of unchanged Showa Big Piston forks.

Here's a shot of the 2009 bike. Differentiation comes from graphics, those two swoopy exhausts, plain-jane radial calipers